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PUBLICATIONS 



OF THE 



SCOTTSVILLE LITEEARY SOCIETY. 



No. 5. 



ON THE ORIGIN OF THE NAMES 



OF PLACES IN 



MONROE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



BY 



FRANKLIN HANFORD. 



SCOTTSVILLE, N. Y. 



Isaac Van Hooser, Printer. 



1911. 



PUBLICATIONS 



OF THE 



SCOTTSVILLE LITEHAEY SOCIETY. 

No. 5. 

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE NAMES 

OF PLACES IN 

MONROE COUNTY, NEW YORK 

BY 

FRANKLIN HANFORD. 

\ SCOTTSVILLE, N. Y. 

Isaac Van Hooser, Printer. 
1911. 






J 



^/z 



Edition Limited to 200 Copies. 



This copy is No...i. 



'Cnr 



A 









iy 



Juii J^ ., 



PREFACK. 

In the preparation of this paper I am under especial 
obligations to Mr. Willis K. Gillette's Address before 
the Rochester Historical Society on the evening of Jan- 
uary 29, 1907, and to the United States Geological 
Survey's Bulletin, No. 197, published by the govern- 
ment in 1902 on " The Origin of Certain Place Names 
in the United States," by Henry Gannett. 

Among the w^orks consulted are the following: — 

History of the Purchase and Settlement of Western 
New York, by Rqx.]. H. Hotchkin.New York, 1848. 

History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and 
Gorham's Purchase, by O. Turner, Rochester, 1851. 

.\ Geographical History of the State of New York, by 
j. H. Mather and L. P. Brockett, M. D., Utica, 1853. 

Gazetteer of the State of New York, by j. H. French, 
Syracuse, N. Y., 1860. 

Atlas of Monroe County, New York, published by 
P. W. Beers & Co.. New York, 1872. 

History of Monroe County, New York, Philadelphia, 

1S77. 

Indian names in New York, by W. M. Beauchamp, 
Fayetteville, N. Y., 1893. 

Landmarks of Monroe Count}', N. Y., b^- William. F. 
Peck, and others, Boston, 1895. 



Plat Book of Monroe County, N. Y., by J. M. Lath- 
rop and Roger H. Pidgeon. Philadelphia; ( 1902. ) 

Wheatland, Monroe County, New York. A Brief 
Sketeh of its History, by George E. Slocum, Seottsville, 
N. Y., 1908. 

1 am also indebted for information to many persons, 
among whom are the following: — Mr. and Mrs. James 
Austin, Supervisor A. Emerson Babeoek, Miss Florence 
Beckwith, Judge Selden S. Brown, Supervisor Isaac 
Budlong, Mrs. Jennie Church, Postmaster Minnie A. 
Daily of Hilton, Supervisor Frank Dobson, John B. 
Hamilton, Fred S. Hanford, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene E. 
Harmon, Elmer R. Harmon. Supervisor Geo. A. Hicks, 
Willard S. Hosmer, H. \Y. HtMvard, Postmaster Eliza 
Love of Bealsburg, Mrs. R.T. Miller, Thomas Nagle, 
Postmaster J. R. Nelson, Mrs. D. E. Rogers, William 
H. Samson, William T. Stone, and the Editor of the 
Rochester Herald's " Curiosity Shop." 

I shall be greatly obliged if my attention is called to 
any errors or omissions, and also for any additional 
information which might be of use in connection with 
this subject. 

F. H. 



ON THE ORIGIN OF THE NAMES 

OF PLACES IN 

MONROE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 

A Paper read before the Scottsville Literary Society 
November 1-t. 1910. 



Probably few of the inhabitants of this County 
and its towns and villages, ever think of the origin 
and meaning of the names of the places in which 
they live. The subject, however, is one of interest 
and of historic value, and it is proposed, in this 
paper, to discuss briefly the sources from which 
most of the names of places in Monroe County, 
New York, are derived. 

The County of Monroe was named for James 
Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, 
who served for eight years as the Chief Executive 
of this nation, from 1817 to 1825. It was during 
his Presidency that this County was formed from 
Ontario and Genesee Counties, Feb. 23, 1821. 



The City of Rochester, which is the County 
town of Monroe County, was settled in 1812, was 
taken from the townships of Brighton and Gates, 
and was incorporated as a village by the name of 
Rochesterville, March 21,1817. Its name was 
changed to Rochester, April 12, 1822, and it was 
enlarged and incorporated as a city, April 28, 1834. 
it derives its name from Colonel Nathaniel Roches- 
ter, of Maryland, one of the three proprietors of the 

Hundred Acre Tract ". Several of Colonel Roch- 
ester's descendants are living in the city, and one 
granddaughter, Miss Jane E. Rochester, bears the 
family name. 

TOWNS. 

The Towns of Monroe County are nineteen in 
number, and the origin of their names, as far as 
can now be determined, is as follows:— 

1. Brighton. This town was formed from the 
town of " Boyle " which was afterwards called 
" Smallwood, " March 25, 1814. Together with 
some twenty-five other places in the U. S., it was 
named, either directly or indirectly, from the Eng- 
lish City and watering place in Sussex of the name 
of Brighton. 

2. Chili. The origin of the name of this town 
is somewhat uncertain. It was formed from Riga, 



Feb. 22, 1822. The first settlement was made by 
Joseph Morgan, a Revolutionary Soldier, in 1 792, 
and some of his descendants are living in the town 
at this time. It is probable that the name was 
taken from the Republic of Chile in South Amer- 
ica. In English and American books and maps, 
the name of Chile is often spelled Chili, and as so 
spelled would be pronounced Chee-iee by the peo- 
ple of that country. The probabilities are that 
when the name was adopted, an easy way of pro- 
nouncing it was also adopted, and hence we have 
Chi-li. Strangers sometimes ask the way to " Chilly- 
the town of Chilly," and it happens that the mean- 
ing of the original indian ( Quichua ) word from 
which the Republic of Chile gets its name, was 
cold." 

3. Clarkson. This tow^n was named for Gen- 
eral Matthew Clarkson, a large land owner in pio- 
neer times, who gave a hundred acres of land to 
the town. It was formed from Murray, Orleans 
County, April 2, 1819. Clarkson is the only town 
in Monroe County v/hich has no railroad crossing 
any part of it. 

4- Gates. The name is in memory of General 
Horatio Gates, a Revolutionary Soldier, born 1 728, 
died 1806, who received the Surrender of General 
Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777. This town, was 
formed March 30, 1802, as Northampton, and 



included a very large area. Its name was changed 
to Gates on June 10, 1812. Parma and Riga were 
taken from it in 1808 and Greece in 1822. 

5. Greece. The town of Greece was formed 
from Gates, March 22, 1822, There is little doubt 
that it was so called from the European Country of 
that name. In 1821 a revolution broke out in the 
Kingdom of Greece and it was natural that the 
sympathies of the people of this Country should be 
w^ith the revolutionists, and, that attention being 
thus drawn to them, our State legislature should 
name a new township after the old mpnarchy. 

6. Hamlin. On Oct. 11, 1852, this town was 
formed from Clarkson, and was called Union until 
February 28, 1861, when the name was changed to 
Hamlin, in honor of Hannibal Hamlin who had 
recently been elected Vice President of the United 
States, and who, with Abraham Lincoln, was inau- 
gurated only a few^ days later. 

7. Henrietta. This town was formed from 
Pittsford, March 27, 1818. It was called after Hen- 
rietta Laura, Countess of Bath. She was a daughter 
of Sir William Pulteney, an Englishman, who had 
bought a large tract of the Phelps and Gorham's 
purchase in Western New York, and whose prop- 
erty was long known as " the Pulteney Estate." 

8. Irondequoit. This name derives from 
Irondequoit Bay which bounds the town on the 



east. The town was taken from Brighton, March 
27, 1839. The name is an Indian one, variously 
spelled and variously interpreted; one translation 
of the word is " v^here the waves gasp and die;" 
another is " opening into the lake;" the best author- 
ities give the meaning simply as " a bay. 

9. Mendon. On May 26, 1812, this town was 
organized and taken from the town of Bloomfield, 
Ontario County. When Monroe County was organ- 
ized in 1821, Mendon was transferred from Ontario 
to'Monroe. The origin of the name is not clear. 
There is a town in the province of Westphalia, 
Prussia, called Menden. There is, in Massachu- 
setts, a town in Worcester County, bearing the 
name of Mendon, and this Massachusetts town de- 
rives i,ts name from Mendham in England. The 
probabilities are that settlers from Mendon, Massa- 
chusetts, came to the Genesee Country and gave 
the name of their old town to the new settlement. 
Several of the early settlers in Mendon w^ere from 
the old Bay State, and it is known that Josiah Fish, 
one of the pioneers of Monroe County, vv^as born in 
Mendon, Massachusetts. 

10. Ogden. William Ogden, son-in-lawof John 
Murray, one of the original proprietors of the town 
of Parma, had the honor of having this town named 
for him. Ogden was formed from Parma, "January 

27, 1817. 



10 



11. Parma. The name is probably derived 
from the Province and City of Parma in Italy. 
None of the authorities consulted have given any 
indication of the source of th:s name, but from the 
frequent adoption of old world names for places in 
the U. S., and especially in New York State, it is 
reasonable to suppose that this one comes from 
Italy. Parma was formed from Northampton (later 
called Gates), April 8, 1808. 

12. Penfield. This name comes from Daniel 
Penfield, one of the early proprietors of land in the 
township. He was Commissary in a New^ York 
Rtigiment during the Revolutionary war. The 
town of Penfield was formed from Boyle, Ontario 
County, March 30, 1810, and was a part of On- 
tario County until Monroe County was formed in 
1821. 

13. Perinton. This town was organized on 
May 26, 1812, being taken from Boyle, Ontario 
County, and continued to form a part of Ontario 
County until 1821, when it was incorporated w^ith 
Monroe. It was named for Glover Perrin, the first 
permanent settler in the town. Perrin came in 
1 789, the same year in which Peter Sheffer and 
his two sons came to Wheatland. 

14. Pittsford. On March 25, 1814, Pittslord 
was formed from Smallw^ood, Ontario County, and 



became a part of Monroe County in 1821. The 
name was given by Colonel Caleb Hopkins who 
had come, with others, to the town from Pittsford, 
Vermont. Colonel Hopkins was then in the flush 
of military honors won in the then existing war 
with Great Britain; he was the most popular man 
in the township, and was given the privilege of 
naming the new subdivision for his former home in 
Vermont. 

15. Riga. None of the authorities consulted 
have given the source of this name, but it is ex- 
tremely probable that it came from the Russian 
city and gulf of Riga. Some years ago the Literary 
Society of Riga, Russia, wrote to the Postmaster 
at Riga, N. Y., expressing an interest in the town 
on account of its name, and making many inquiries 
concerning it. Riga was formed from Northamp- 
ton ( later called Gates), April 8, 1808. It was 
first settled under James Wadsworth cf Geneseo, a 
land agent, in 1805. Chili was taken from it in 

1822. 

16. Rush. This town was taken from Avon, 
( Livingston County), March 13, 1818. It was first 
setded in 1 799 by Major Wm. Markham and Ran- 
som Smith from New Hampshire. Mr. Willis K. Gil- 
lette, in a paper read before the Rochester Histor- 
ical Society in 1907, says that Rush was probably 



12 



namedi for Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, who died in 
1813, and that has been the popular belief. In 
Turner's History of the Phelps and Gorham's Pur- 
chase, however, there are several pages of the 
Reminiscences of Joseph Sibley, " w^ho was one 
of the pioneers in this town. In those reminiscen- 
ces, speaking of pioneer days, Mr. Sibley says, 
"there were large patches of rushes both on flats and 
uplands, along the river and the Honeoye Creek; 
the locality was called ' Rush Bottom ' — thence the 
name of the tow^n. Cattle would winter well and 
thrive on the rushes; the Wadsworth's would send 
large droves here to winter, and many were sent 
from Lima, Bloomfield and Victor. The rushes 
finally run out by being repeatedly fed down. " 

17. Sweden. The town of Sweden w^as 
formed from Murray, ( Orleans County ) April 2, 
1813. The reasons for adopting this name are un- 
certain, but the probabilitifes are that it came from 
Sweden, the country of northern Europe. There 
is a small place in Maine of that name, and it is 
possible that some of the early settlers came from 
Sweden, Maine, and gave the name to this town- 
ship. 

18. Webster. There are no less than thirty 
towns, counties or villages bearing this name in the 
United States, the greater part, if not all, named for 



13 



Daniel Webster, the great orator and statesman. 
Webster, Monroe County, was formed from Pen- 
field, February 6, 1840. At that time Daniel Web- 
ster was a Senator from Massachusetts and at the 
height of his influence and power. It was at about 
this time that his party ( the Whigs ) had triumphed 
in the elections; hence it was natural to give his 
name to the new town. 

19. Wheatland. Though last in order alpha- 
betically this town is first in our affections. At the 
time Monroe County was formed, February 23, 
1821, our town was taken from Caledonia and 
called " Inverness, " to please the Scotch settlers in 
the western part of the town; but the residents in the 
eastern end, ( largely New Englanders, Pennsylva- 
nians, and eastern and central New Yorkers ) , had 
influence enough to induce the Legislature to 
change the name to Wheatland, in recognition of 
the fertility of the soil and its adaptability to the 
cultivation of wheat. This change of name was 
made April 3, 1821. Although wheat is no longer 
the one principal crop, it is still one of the princi- 
pal crops, both as to quality and quantity, there 
being few farms within the town without more or 
less acreage of w^heat each year. In pioneer times 
the country about w^hat is now^ Wheatland was 
known to many of the early settlers as the " oak 
openings." In I 797 all the territory in New York, 



west of the Genesee River was organized as the 
town of Northampton, Ontario County. In 1802, 
that portion of Northampton which included 
Wheatland became Southampton, Genesee County, 
but in 1806, the name w^as changed to Caledonia. 

Classifying the origin of the names of these nine- 
teen towns, we find that there are derived from 
Countries in Europe, two,-- Greece and Sw^eden; 
from towns in Europe, three,— Brighton, Parma 
and Riga; from a Country in South America, one,— 
Chili; from towns in New England, two,— Mendon 
and Pittsford; from a Revolutionary General, one,— 
Gates; from American Statesmen, two,— Hamlin 
and Webster; from pioneers or large land ow^ners, 
four,-- Clarkson, Ogden, Penfield and Perinton; 
from an English Countess, one,-- Henrietta; from 
the Indian name of a bay, one,-- Irondequoit; 
from the rushes growing on the banks of its 
streams, one,— Rush; and from the character of its 
soil and principal crop, one,— Wheatland. 

This is certainly a wide and interesting range 
from Sweden to Chile; from Riga in Russia and 
Parma in Italy to Pittsford in Vermont and Mendon 
in Massachusetts; from General Gates to Henrietta, 
Countess of Bath; from Daniel Webster and Hanni- 
bal Hamlin to an Indian named bay; from pioneers 
to " Rush Bottoms;" and lastly to a beautifully 
descriptive word. Wheat-land, which conveys to 
the mind an idea of fertility, prosperity and plenty. 



POST OFFICES. 



On July 1, 1910, there were forty-five Post Offices 
in Monroe County. They will be considered here 
in alphabetical order. 

1. Adams Basin, in Ogden, on the Erie Canal. 
This name comes from a family of early settlers 
named Adams, and from Basin, a w^idening or en- 
largement tSf the canal at that point. 

2. Barnard, in Greece, w^here the extension of 
Dewey Avenue, Rochester, crosses the Charlotte 
branches of the New York Central and Buffalo, 
Rochester and Pittsburg Rail Roads. When the 
Rochester- Charlotte branch of the N. Y. Central 
was built it cut through a small place at this cross- 
ing owned by the widow of Thomas Barnard; and 
their son, Charlie Barnard, was the first flagman 
there; — hence the name Barnard's Crossing. But 
the Post Office Department being averse to long 
or compound names, " crossing " was crossed out 
some years ago and finally the possessive " s " was 
eliminated, with Barnard as the result. Locally the 
place was sometimes called " Pretty Girl's Cross- 
ing. " 

3. Bealsburg, in Chili, where the Buffalo, 
Rochester and Pittsburg R. R. crosses the Paul 
road. It was established April 24, 1886, and 
named after B. D. Beal, a near by resident and a 



former Supervisor of the town, who was active in 
having the office estabHshed. The railroad station 
at this crossing is called Maplewood. 

4. Brighton. This office was named for the 
town of Brighton and is now a sub-station in the 
City of Rochester. 

5. Brockport, an incorporated village in Swe- 
den and on the Erie Canal, was named for Hiel 
Brockway, a prominent early settler, and port, a 
harbor or landing place. 

6. Charlotte, an incorporated village on the 
Genesee River where it empties into Lake Ontario, 
in the town of Greece. Authorities differ as to the 
origin of this name. The U. S. Government's Mono- 
graph on place names, says it is from Charlotte 
Augusta, Princess of Wales, ( born, 1 796; died, 
181 7 ) daughter of George IV, King of England. 
Mr. Willis K. Gillette, in an address before the 
Rochester Historical Society in 1907, says it was 
named for Charlotte Troup, daughter of Colonel 
Robert Troup, who was at one time agent of the 
Pulteney Estate. This latter derivation is believed 
to be the correct one. 

7. Chili. This office is in the town of Chili, at 
the settlement known as " Chili Center, " and 
derives its name from the town. 

8. Chili Station derives its name from the 
town of Chili, and from the fact that there is a 



Station on the New York Central ,R. R. at this 
point, where the railroad crosses the Braddocks 
Bay road. The Station is named " Chili, " on the 
N. Y. Central Time Table. 

9. Churchville, an incorporated village in Riga, 
was named for Samuel Church, a pioneer, whose 
daughter was the first white child born in the tow^n. 

10. Clarkson, on the " Ridge Road " in the 
town of Clarkson, takes its nam^e from the town. 

11. Claverhouse is a summer office in the 
town cf Irondequoit, at the so-called " White City. " 
in the winter the district covered by this office is 
served from Charlotte. The name v^^as recommen- 
ded by Colonel James S. Graham, when he w^as 
Postmaster at Rochester, at the time the office was 
established. Probably it was suggested by the fact 
that Claverhouse was the ancestral estate of the 
Grahames of Scotland in the time of John Grahame 
of Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, w^ho was a 
devoted adherent of the Stuarts. 

12. Clifton is situated in the south w^est corner 
of the town of Chili. A few years ago there were 
tw^enty-four places in the U. S. nanned Clifton, as 
w^ell as two in New^ Brunsw^ick and three in Eng- 
land, to say nothing of several Clifton Villes,— 
springs,- city,- dale,- forge,- park,- station, &c. 
It is probable that all, or nearly all of these places 



18 



in the U. S. derive from some one of the English 
Ciiftons, more especially from the watering place 
and summer resort near Bristol, in Gloucestershire, 
where there are some celebrated hot mineral 
springs. Clifton, in Monroe County w^as formerly 
called " Harmonsburg " and " Harmon's Mills, 
from the mills and other enterprises of Anan Har- 
mon, an extensive land owner there. The place 
also had several nick names such as " Graball 
and " Hardscrabble. " When the Post office at 
South Chili was to be discontinued and an office 
established at " Harmon's Mills, " about 1850, a 
Mr. Alfred Mudge and Mr. Anan Harmon are said 
to have proposed the name *' Clifton " for the new 
office, and as the people and the Postal authorities 
agreed in not wanting another place called Chili ; 
and as the proposed name had a pleasant sound, 
agreeable to the ear and to the tongue, it vv^as 
accepted. 

13. Cold Water is a Post office and also a 
Station on the main line of the New^ York Central 
Rail Road in the town of Gates. It was named by 
the R. R. officials over half a century ago, on 
account of the excellent cold water found there 
and used for w^atering their engines. 

14. East Rochester is a comparatively mod- 
ern village, partly in Pittsford and partly in Perinton, 
about seven miles from the center of Rochester 
from which its name derives. It was first called 



19 



Despatch, " because the Merchants Despatch 
Transportation Company located its car shops there. 

15. Fairport, an incorporated village in Perin- 
ton, on the Erie Canal, dates its origin as a village 
from 1 822, when the canal was in process of build- 
ing through the township. It became an important 
place on the canal, but the details as to who gave 
the name are not known. Presumably the name 
w^as chosen because it was considered a fine " port. " 

16. Forest Lawn is a summer resort on Lake 
Ontario in the town of Webster, and is also a sta- 
tion on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg 
R. R. The name has no special significance. 

17. Garbutt, a village in Wheatland, on Allan's 
Creek, long known as Garbuttsville, derives its 
name from the family who first settled there in 
1804-5, namely, Zachariah Garbutt with his wife, 
his three sons, John, William and Philip, and his 
two daughters, Elizabeth and Phebe. A consider- 
able number of their descendants, many of whom 
bear the fainily name, live at or near the village. 
The post office was established May 3, 1880. 

18. Gates takes its name from the town in 
which it is situated. It is V^ mile west of the Roch- 
ester city line on the Lyell road. 

19. Hamlin derives from the town of Hamlin. 

20. Henrietta, until recently called East 
Henrietta, obtains its name from the township in 



20 



which it is located, the word " East " having been 
ehminated for the sake of brevity and simpHcity. 
There is also a Station on the Lehigh Valley R. R. 
called Henrietta. 

21. Hilton, an incorporated village in Parma, 
was known in early days as Unionville, and later, 
until 1895, called North Parma. The present name 
was given in honor of the Rev. Charles A. Hilton 
who resided there at one time as pastor of the 
Freewill Baptist Church. 

22. Honeoye Falls is an incorporated village 
in Mendon and was named from its situation at the 
falls and water power on Honeoye Creek. It was 
long known as Norton's Mills from the mills erected 
there by Zebulon Norton, the pioneer settler in the 
town of Mendon and the founder of the village 
now called Honeoye Falls. Honeoye is derived 
from an Indian word Ha-ye-a-yeh or On-agh-e and 
means " a finger lying. " Dr. Beauchamp, in his 
"Indian names in New^ York, " says " it was named 
for a trivial incident, " but does not give the incident. 

23. Industry. This post office is at the New 
York State Industrial School in the town of Rush, 
and takes its name from the school. There is a 
station on the Erie Raiiw^ay at the same place also 
called " Industry. " The station was first called 
" Scottsville, " because, when the present Rochester 
Division of the Erie Railway w^as built, it was the 
nearest R. R. Station to that village. In 1903 the 



21 



name of the station was changed by the Erie Rail- 
way officials to " Pixley, " in honor of Charles Hart 
Pixley, who had been Station agent there for 
nearly forty years. In 1908 the Erie officials again 
changed the name to " O-at-ka " ( usually called 
Oat-ka by the traveling public ) but this was a 
great misnomer as Oatka Creek is actually on the 
opposite side of the Genesee River and a mile 
and a half away. The present name, " Industry, 
given when the new Station house was built in 
1909, is appropriate, as the station is near the 
center of the New York State Industrial School. 

24. Irondequoit is so named from the town in 
which it is located. 

25. Lincoln Park, in Gates, takes its name 
from the near by station on the Buffalo, Rochester 
and Pittsburg Rail road, just west of the Rochester 
City line, at West avenue. The late Major D. D. S, 
Brown, of Scottsviile, having purchased a consider- 
able tract of land in Gates about 1872, not far from 
the city line, named the tract for Lincoln Park in 
Chicago, which he had seen and admired, and also 
in admiration of Abraham Lincoln. Major Brown 
offered to give a portion of his purchase to the 
City of Rochester to be used as a park, but his 
offer was not accepted. When the B. R. & P. R. R. 
was opened in 1874, Major Brown being one of the 
Directors of the road, had the privilege of naming 



22 



the newly established Station, which was near his 
property, and he called it " Lincoln Park. 

26. Mendon. This post office and also a rail- 
way station on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, in the 
eastern part of the town of Mendon, are named for 
the tow^n. 

27. Mortimer is on the " Town Line Road " 
between Brighton and Henrietta, near the point 
where the West Shore R. R. crosses the Erie and 
Lehigh Valley R. Rs. There is also a station of 
the same name on both the last named Railroads. 
The name comes from Mortimer F. Reynolds, a 
well known Rochester man, now deceased, who 
owned a farm near by. 

28. Mumford, a village in Wheatland, was, ac- 
cording to Mr. Geo. E. Slocum's History of Wheat- 
land, first known as " Mc Kenzie's Corners, " from 
the Mc Kenzie family who were early settlers there; 
then, from the material of w^hich its first dwellings 
were constructed, as " Slab City, " and later, from 
one of its prominent and popular business men, 
Mr, E. H. T. Mumford, as " Mumfordville; " still 
later, at the suggestion of the officials of the Post 
office Department, who were desirous of economiz- 
ing in time, space and labor, the last syllable w^as 
dropped and it has since been called by its present 
cognomen, " Mumford. " A postoffice was estab- 
lished there June 20, 1844. There is also a station 
called " Mumford" on the B. R. & P. R. R. 



23 



29. North Chili, in the North West corner of 
Chih is named from the to"wn. 

30. North Greece is so named from its loca- 
tion in the town of Greece. 

31. North Rush. This Place has long been 
known locally as " Harts' Corners " from the Hart 
family, who were early settlers and large land own- 
ers there. When the post office was established it 
was named for its location in the town of Rush. 

32. Penfield, on Irondequoit Creek in the South 
West part of the town of Penfield, is named for the 
town. 

33. Pittsford is named for the town of Pittsford. 
It is on the Canandaigua branch of the New York 
Central and also on the West Shore Rail road. 

34. Rochester, was named for Colonel Nathan- 
iel Rochester. 

35. Rochester Junction. This post office is in 
the town of Mendon and is appropriately named 
because it is at the junction of the main line of the 
Lehigh Valley Railroad with its Rochester branch. 

36. Rush. This is the largest village in the 
town of the same name. It was formerly called 
" East Rush " from its location in the town, but as 
there was a " West Rush " and a " North Rush ' in 
the town, the post office authorities eliminated the 
word " East " for the sake of simplicity. It is on 
the main line of the Lehigh Valley Rail road. 



24 



37. Scottsville, in Wheatland, was named for 
Isaac Scott, who settled there in 1 790, and obtained 
title to a large part of the land embraced in the 
present Scottsville Fire District ; he built a log house 
on the site of the Hon. I. W. Salyerd's residence, 
and in 1800 or 1801 opened his cabin as a 
tavern. The late Dr. Freeman Edson, who practised 
his profession in Scottsville so many years, was 
a nephew of Isaac Scott. The Rev. Hanford A. 
Edson, D. D., a great nephew, and his children, are 
the only relatives of Isaac Scott now living in the 
village. The post office here was established on 
May 20, 1820, with Dr. Freeman Edson as the first 
Postmaster. There are stations at Scottsville on the 
B. R. & P., and the Pennsylvania Railroads. 

38. Sea Breeze is in Irondequoit at the junc- 
tion of Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario. The 
name has no significance so far as this locality is 
concerned. There is a station thereon the R. W. 
& O. R. R. also called " Sea Breeze. " 

39. Spencerport is an incorporated village in 
Ogden, on the Erie Canal and on the Niagara Falls 
Branch of the N. Y. Central R. R. It was named 
for Daniel Spencer, w^ho vv^as an early settler, and 
w^as first called " Spencer's Basin. " 

40. Union Hill is a small village in Webster. 
About thirty-five years ago, the people in its vicinity 
wishing to have a post office established there. 



25 



petitioned the P. O. Department at Washington to 
name the office " Jonesville, " for a family named 
Jones who kept a store at the place. As there was 
already a P. O. in N. Y. State with that name, this 
request was declined and the people then selected 
the name " Union Hill, " because the place is on 
the boundary line road between Webster, Monroe 
County and Ontario, Wayne County, and also be- 
cause it is at the top of a hill as one goes south 
from the station on the R. W. & O. R. R., and this 
name w^as accepted by the government. 

41. Walker, in the tow^n of Hamlin, w^as origi- 
nally " North Clarkson, " then " East Hamlin, " and 
finally, to distinguish it from " Hamlin, " " North 
Hamlin ' and " Hamlin Center, " the name was 
changed to " Walker " in honor of the Rev. Will- 
iam Walker, pastor of the Free Will Baptist Church 
there. 

42. Webster takes its name from the town of 
Webster in which it is situated, as does the station 
on the R. W. & O. R. R. there. 

43. West Henrietta was so called from its 
position in the town of Henrietta. There is a sta- 
tion on the Erie Railway called " West Henrietta, " 
n4 miles due west of the P. O. and village of that 

name. 



26 



44. West Rush, situated in the western part of 
the town of Rush, was so called to distinguish it 
from " East Rush " ( now " Rush " ) . There is a 
station on the Canandaigua - Batavia branch of the 
N. Y. Central R. R. at West Rush, having the same 
name as the village and the P. O. 

45. West Webster, a village in the western 
part of the town of that name, was named for its 
situation. 

Every [own in Monroe County, except Perinton, 
has one or more villages, hamlets, railway stations 
or post offices named after the town itself. The 
following is a list of such places, the names printed 
in heavy faced type being post offices which have 
already been referred to under the heading " Post 
Offices. " 

Brighton and West Brighton. 

Chili, Chill Center, ChiU Station, North Chili 
and South Chili. 

Clarkson. 

Gates and Gates Center. 

Greece Station, North Greece, South Greece 
and West Greece. 

HamHn, Hamlin Center, Hamlin Station and 
North Hamlin. 

Henrietta and West Henrietta. 

Irondequoit. 



27 



Mendon and Mendon Center. 

Ogden and Ogden Center. 

Parma Center and Parma Corners. 

Penfield, Penfield Center and East Penfield. 

Pittsford. 

Riga Center. 

Rush, North Rush and West Rush* 

Sweden Center and West Sweden. 

Webster and West Webster. 

Wheatland and Wheatland Center. 

The greater number of the above require ho special 
mention. " South Chili " however, was long known 
as the ■' Checker " or " Checkered Tavern, " and 
is still called by that name by the older residents 
in its vicinity. It was so called from the tavern 
located there for many years, but no longer m 
existence, which was painted outside in a dark 
and light checkerboard style, the squares running 
diagonally across the front and ends of the building. 

There is a small village called *' Gates Center," 
and also known as " Gates, " though distinct from 
the post office of that name, near the center of the 
town on the Buffalo Road. 

" North Greece" is known locally as "Jenkins 
Corners " or " Jinks. " 

" South Greece " has been called " Henpeck. " 

" West Greece " has often been called " Hoosic 
Hill. " It is said that old Doctor Bradley, as he 



28 



passed by on his rounds, would be accosted by his 
neighbors, putting their heads out of their windows, 
and calling out, - " Who's Sick, Doctor, Who's 
Sick. ? " 

" Ogden " was long known as " Tow^n Pump, " 
from the pump and watering trough there, a num- 
ber of the early settlers having combined forces to 
dig a well for their common use and for the benefit 
of travelers. The pump no longer exists but the 
name lingers among the older people in the town 
of Ogden. 

" Wheatland Center," so called because it is near 
the center of the town, has been known locally as 
" Hall's Corners " from Deacon Clark Hall. From 
1826 to 1858 there was a post office at this place 
called " Wheatland " and Deacon Hall was the post- 
master for 21 years after its establishment. There 
is a station on the B. R. & P. R. R. called " Wheat- 
land, " about % mile south of " Wheatland Center " 
on the " Wheatland Center Road. " At the point 
where the " Wheatland Center Road " crosses 
Allan's Creek there is a hamlet called " Smith's 
Mills, " from the flouring mill of the late Hiram 
Smith which was locate,d there. 

Nearly every tow^n in Monroe County has one or 
more " corners " named for some family no\v living 
at the cross roads or formerly living there. At some 
of these " corners " there is a small settlement, 



29 



with perhaps a church or store or blacksmith's 
shop, while at others there may be only one or two 
houses. Among them are Edmund's Corners in 
Brighton; Buckbee's Corners in Chili ; Redmon 
Corners in Clarkson; Hayes Corners, Lord's Corners, 
Parker's Corners and Black and White Corners in 
Mendon ; Bartlett's Comers and Burritt's Corners in 
Parma ; Sweet's Corners in Penfield ; Hallock's 
Corners and Mann's Corners in Rush ; Comstock s 
Corners and Reed's Corners in Sweden ; and Mill- 
er's Corners in Wheatland. To go into details 
concerning each one of these family names would 
too greatly lengthen this paper. But Black and 
White Corners, however, deserves especial men- 
tion. Its name arose from the fact that in an early 
day Mr. Walter White owned a farm on one of the 
corners, while a black man named Varnum owned 
land on another corner, hence - " Black and White 
Corners. " 

During the past fifty years a considerable number 
of summer villages or " resorts " have sprung up 
along the shore of Lake Ontario and Irondequoit 
Bay. Among these resorts, aside from those already 
mentioned under Postoffices, there are, to the East 
of the Genesee R.iver, in Webster and on Lake 
Ontario, -- Locust Grove and Forest Lawn; and 
in Irondequoit, on Lake Ontario, — The Highlands, 
Lake Cove, White City, Windsor Beach and Sum- 
merville; also in Irondequoit, on the Bay, — Point 



30 



Pleasant, Birds and Worms, Newport, Point Lookout 
and Glen Haven. To the west of the Genesee, 
on Lake Ontario, there are in Greece, -- Ontario 
Beach, Crescent Beach, Grand View Beach, and 
Manitou Beach; and in Hamlin, -- Greenwood 
Beach, Sunnyside Beach, Beachwood Park and 
Troutberg. 

Nearly all of these are fancy names, having no 
local significance, given apparently to look w^ell in 
print and sound well in the advertisements, and 
need not be considered further in this paper, ex- 
cept to say that " White City " was so called be- 
cause of the fact that it consisted of many white 
tents or of structures composed wholly or in part of 
canvas. " Manitou," the name given to one of 
these " Beaches " is an Indian word and means 
" a Spirit, " but that w^as not the original name of 
the locality. 

Continuing the list of villages, hamlets, and rail- 
way stations, we have, in alphabetical order, the 
following, not post offices nor names of towns in 
which they are situated. 

Ada. This place is in Greece and w^as formerly 
called " Greece, " but on account of there being a 
station called " Greece " on the Rome, Watertow^n 
and Ogdensburg R. R., considerable confusion 
resulted, and the P. O. Department adopted the 



31 



name " Ada, " because, ( it is said, ) that Mr. W. H. 
Anderson, who was postmaster at the time the 
change was made, had formerly lived in Ada, 
Michigan. The P. O. however, was discontinued 
about the time the Rural Free Delivery system w^as 
inaugurated, and now the name " Ada " is falling 
into disuse. 

Allen's Creek, in Brighton, on the extension of 
East Avenue ( Rochester ) is a small hamlet taking 
its name from the creek of the same name which 

flows through it. 

» 

Belcoda is a small settlement in Wheatland, 
where there are a few houses, a district school 
and a well kept cemetery, and where there was 
once a flourishing Baptist Church. Its name is 
unique. There is no other place of the same name 
in the United States, nor, I believe in the world; it 
is not found in the Century Atlas nor in the Post 
Office Directory. The word " Belcoda " does not 
occur in the English, French, Spanish, German, 
Latin or Greek languages. After numerous inqui- 
ries and the searching of many histories, geogra- 
phies, gazetteers and dictionaries, I learn from Mr. 
Eugene E. Harmon, who lives near the place, that 
the w^ord was a purely fanciful invention of his 
fathers', ( Mr. Ira Harmon, ) given early in the last 
century, and has no meaning. 

Mr. Willard S. Hosmer, a near by resident gives 
the following traditional account of the origin of 



32 



the name :— there was an " odd genius ' named 
Eleazer Calkins, who lived at or near the settlement, 
an illiterate character, and he was among the men 
w^ho w^ere assisting to raise the frame of the first 
church building there, about the year 1820. When 
it came time to raise the belfry, Calkins called out. 
Come on now^ boys, here's the " belcody ! " and 
this misuse of the word " belcody " for " belfry " 
stuck to the church and the place, and ever since 
the latter has been called " Belcoda. " 

Judge Selden S. Brown gives another tradition 
concerning the w^ord, w^hich is, that a certain minis- 
ter of the gospel who conducted services there in 
pioneer times, falling in love w^ith one of the young 
ladies of the vicinity. Miss Belle Cody, gave her 
name to the locality. 

Beulah. This place consists of a few houses, a 
district school and a United Presbyterian Church, 
and is situated in the w^estern part of Wheatland, 
2^ 2 miles from Belcoda. When the church w^as 
dedicated in 1851, Captain Thomas Faulkner, one 
of the principal men in the community, named it 

Beulah Church " and the settlement became 
known as " Beulah. " There is a story current in 
Wheatland, that on the day the church was to be 
named Captain Faulkner, taking a Bible, opened it 
and placed a finger upon a verse, with the under- 
standing that whatever name w^as mentioned in the 



33 



verse should be given to the church; the verse thus 
selected was Isaiah 64th chapter and 4th verse, in 
which the word Beulah occurs. The word means 
married, " in Hebrew, and was used by the 
Prophet Isaiah to indicate the intimate relations of 
the Jewish Church to God. Quite unlike the neigh- 
boring hamlet of Belcoda, there are many places 
named Beulah. In 1900 there were no less than 
22 places in the U. S. bearing this scriptural nerre. 

Brookdale, in Chili, is a flag station on the B. R. 
& P. R. R. and was named for the Lyman Brooks 
family. There was for a short time, some years 
ago, a postoffice there called " Brookmere. 

Bushnell's Basin, in Perinton, on the Erie Canal, 
got its name from the firm of Bushnell, Lyman 
Wilmarth & Co., who did a large mercantile and 
forwarding business there for many years, about 
1830, and later. 

Cartersville, a small settlement of about ten 
houses in Pittsford on the Erie Canal, was named 
for Roswell Carter, w^ho formerly had a warehouse 
on a " slip " of the old canal at that place, and it 
became known first as " Carter's Basin, " and later 
as " Cartersville. 

Carthage was a flourishing settlement at the 
lower falls of the Genesee River early in the last 
century, but it has long been absorbed by the city 
of Rochester. Its name was derived, directly or 



34 



indirectly, from the ancient African city of Carth- 
age. In the Phoenician language the name meant 
New Town, and perhaps this accounts for the name 
being given by some classical scholar among the 
early settlers. 

Cedar Swamp is a station on the Lehigh Valley 
Railroad in Henrietta, and gets its name from a 
cedar swamp existing at this point. 

Center Park is a station on the main line of the 
N. Y. Central R. R. in Rochester, and was named 
for a small park of that name. 

Collamer, is a station on the R. W. & O. R. R. 
in Parma, derives from John B. Collamer, through 
w^hose farm the R. R. passed at this point. 

Edgewood, a station on the west Shore R. R, in 
Henrietta, derived from its situation near a piece of 
wood land. 

Egypt is a small village in Perinton. There 
were in 1900, some 14 places in the U. S. named 
for this ancient country in Africa. This place is 
said to have obtained its name from the circum- 
stance that in pioneer times. Deacon Ramsdell and 
Cyrus Parker had an excellent crop of corn and 
other grains one year w^hen the average crop in the 
surrounding country w^as poor. 1 he news of their 
success spread abroad in the community and many 
of their fellow^ pioneers came from near and 



35 



far to buy corn of them; hence the place became 
known as " Egypt " and has retained the name to 
this day. 

Elm Place, a station on the Erie Railway in 
Rush was so named because it was established on 
the farm and near the home of Mr. William G. 
Markham, whose property bore the name of " Elm 
Place. " 

Five Points is a hamlet in Rush, where two 
highways cross and a third ends at their intersec- 
tion, thus making five corners or " points, 

Garland, a hamlet in Clarkson, was first known 
as " Ladd's Corners, " from James Ladd, an early 
storekeeper there, and w^as afterwards called " East 
Clarkson " which name it retained until the post 
office established there was discontinued. In the 
early nineties, the office w^as re-established as 

Garland, " but why this name w^as chosen is fin- 
certain. It appears to have no significance. 

Genesee Junction, in Chili, is a station at the 
intersection of the West Shore and Pennsylvania 
R. R. s, and is presumably so named on account of 
its situation near the Genesee River. 

Golah in Rush, is at the intersection of the 
Canandaigua - Batavia branch of the New York 
Central and the Rochester - Avon branch of the 
Erie Railways, and is within a fev/ rods of where 



36 



Honeoye Creek enters the Genesee River. The 
station was first called " Genesee Valley Junction, 
from the fact that this branch of the Erie when 
built was called the " Genesee Valley Railroad. " 
Later on the name was changed by the R. R. Offi- 
cials to " Rush Junction. " But as Rush, West 
Rush and Rush Junction were so near together, 
considerable trouble occurred with passengers, and 
w^ith freight and express deliveries. Hence a new 
name was desired by the officials of both the inter- 
secting Railways, The Rev. H. W. Howard, of the 
M. E. Church in Rush then proposed the name of 
Geneoye, " a combination of Gen-esee clnd 
Hon-eoye, but this w^as considered too cumbersome 
by the Railway authorities. Mr. Howard then 
manufactured the word " Golah " taking letters 
from the names of five families residing in the 
neighborhood, thus:- G-reene 
R-O-tzel 
Stul-L 
Ch-A-pman 

H-amilton and this name 
w^as accepted by both the railroads interested. 

Hanford's Landing, on the west side of the 
Genesee River, below the low^er falls, and at the 
head of navigation on the river, was formerly in 
Greece, but is now incorporated in the city of 
Rochester. It was first known as " King's Landing " 



37 



from Gideon King, but the name gradually changed 
to " Hanford's Landing" about 1810, when 
Frederic and Abraham Hanford with five brothers 
and two sisters came there, bought property, opened 
a store, built a hotel and did a general merchandise 
and forwarding business between the Genesee 
Country and other lake ports and Canada. The place 
has been entirely abandoned how^ever for some 
years. 

Hinkleyville, a small settlement in Parma, de- 
rives its name from a local family of prominence 
named Hinkley. 

Kendall Mills, a village on Sandy Creek, partly 
in Hamlin, Monroe County, and partly in Kendall, 
Orleans County, derives its name from the town- 
ship of Kendall, and from the mills located there. 
Kendall was named for the Hon. Amos Kendall, 
who was once Postmaster General of the U. S. 

Lehigh is a flag station on the Erie Railway in 
Rush, and is so named because that road crosses 
the Lehigh Valley R. R. at this point. 

Maplewood, a station on the B. R. & P. R. R. in 
Chili, was so called from a grove of maples near 
by. There is a post office at this place called 
Bealsburg. 

Morton. This village, like Kendall Mills, is situ- 
ated on the " County Line Road " and is partly in 
Hamlin, Monroe County and partly in Kendall, 



38 



Orleans County. It was formerly called East Ken- 
dall, and is a station on the R. W. & O. R. R. 
Owing to the confusion arising from the fact that 
there were places called Kendall, Kendall Mills 
and West Kendall in the vicinity, a change of 
name was desired and the people of the village 
were asked to choose a new one. After consider- 
able discussion, the name " Morton, " for the Hon. 
Levi P. Morton, Governor of New York State, was 
agreed upon and adopted. 

Number Six Corners, a hamlet in Rush, is so 
called because Number Six District School is located 
there. 

Otis, a station on the Charlotte Branch of the 
New York Central R. R., in Rochester, but former- 
ly in Gates, was named for Major General Elwell S. 
Otis, U. S. Army, and for the Otis family who for- 
merly owned the land upon which the staticn was 
built. 

Ponds. This was a summer post office en the 
trolley line from Charlotte to Manitou Beach, but 
was discontinued in 1908. It was named on ac- 
count of the several ponds along the line of the 
trolley. 

Red Creek was a station, in Brighton, on the 
West Shore R. R. where it crosses the Erie and 
Lehigh Valley roads and was named for Red Creek 
which flows just west of the station. Of late years, 



39 



however, the name has been changed by the rail- 
way officials to " Mortimer. " 

Ridgeland, a station on the West Shore R. R. 
in Henrietta, is said to be derived from a ridge of 
land nearby. 

Roseland, in Penfield, is a hamlet on the Tract 
Road. The name has no especial significance. 

Severance, a flag station on the Pennsylvania R. 
R., in Chili took the name from Horace and Homer 
Severance, who ow^ned farms near by when the 
station w^as established. 

Sibleyville, in Mendon, once a place of consider- 
able importance, was named for Benjamin Sibley 
and his sons Samuel and Hiram Sibley, who built a 
saw^ mill, carding mill and grist mill, and manufac- 
tured agricultural implements there. In 1826 and 
for about 20 years afterwards, Hiram and Samuel 
Sibley, in partnership with D. A. Watson, carried 
on an extensive business there, employing as many 
as 80 men. 

State Fish Ponds, or Fish Ponds, is the name 
of a station in Mumford, in the town of Wheatland, 
on the B. R. & P. R. R., very near the Caledonia, 
Livingston County Line. It was so named for its 
proximity to the New York State Fish Hatchery, on 
Spring Creek. 

Twelve Corners is the name of a little village 



40 



in Brighton where three highways cross leaving 
a small triangle at their intersection, and thus 
making just a dozen corners. 

Whites is a flag station on the Pennsylvania R. 
R., in Chili. It was named for the James White 
family who owned a farm near the station when it 
was established. 

NATURAL FEATURES. 

RIVER, LAKE AND BAY. 



The Genesee River, with its falls and water 
power, its tributary streams, and its varied scenery 
may be considered the most important of the natu- 
ral features of Monroe County. The name is de- 
rived from an Indian word, Che-nus-si-o, and means 
" shining " or " beautiful valley. " 

Lake Ontario, is next in importance. Ontario is 
an Indian name. Father Hennepin, the early 
French explorer, in his " A New Discovery of a 
Vast Country in America, " twice mentions its 
meaning; in one place he says " The great River of 
St. Lawrence derives its source frcm the Lake On- 
tario, which ie likewise called in the Iroquese Lan- 
guage, Skanadario; that is to say, a very pretty 
lake. " In another place in his narrative Hennepin 
says " The great River of St. Lawrence, which I 
have often mentioned, runs through the middle of 



41 



the Country of the Iroquese, and makes a great 
Lake there which they call Ontario, viz. the beau- 
tiful Lake," According to Hennepin the French 
called it " Lake Frontenac, from the illustrious Count 
de Frontenac, Governour- General of Canada. " 
Horatio Hale, the ethnologist, in his '* Iroquois 
Book of Rites ' expresses the belief that the 
original signification of Ontario was " great lake. " 
It had other names, also, such as " o-hu-de-a-ra, 
given by the Senecas, and in 1615 Champlain 
termed it the lake of the" En-ton-ho-no-rons. " But 
Ontario is the name which has been preserved. One 
w^riter on Indian names says that the word Ontario 
means " beautiful prospect of rocks, hills and water. 

Irondequoit Bay is the largest and finest body 
of water entirely within the County of Monroe. 
As already mentioned under the town of that name, 
the word means, in the Indian language, a bay. 
Lewis H. Morgan gives it as if spelled *' Neo-da-on- 
da-quat. " A great variety of ways of spelling and 
pronouncing the word, is found among the early 
writers on the discovery, settlement and history of 
the region in which this bay is situated. 

CREEKS. 

A considerable number of small rivers or creeks 
are found in Monroe County, some of them so 
small as to have no names. Among them are the 
following:-- 



42 



Allan's Creek or Oatka Creek, enters the 
Genesee River in Wheatland, but rises in Wyoming 
County and flows through Genesee County before 
entering Monroe. The name by which it has been 
most commonly know^n, Allan's Creek, derives from 
Ebenezer ( or " Indian " ) Allan, a remarkable char- 
acter, a tory during the Revolutionary War, a man 
of many wives and a bad reputation, but of great 
enterprise and energy, w^ho settled near the mouth 
of this creek on a small elevation above the sur- 
rounding " flats, " on its left or north bank about 
1 785-6. He obtained a large tract of land from 
Oliver Phelps for his services in connection w^ith 
obtaining a session of land from the Indians, and 
sold it to Peter Sheffer and his two sons in 1 789. 
The correct spelling of his name is Allan, not 
Allen. Of late years the use of the Indian name 
for this stream, ( O-at-ka, ) has become more com- 
mon; it means " the opening. " The knoll where 
Allan settled is now^ a part of the Thomas Brown 
estate. 

Allen's Creek is a small tributary of Irondequoit 
Creek, entering it from the S. W., in Penfield, but 
flowing mostly through Henrietta and Brighton. It 
was named after two brothers named Allen, who 
resided along its banks in Brighton. The correct 
spelling of this east side stream is AJlen, while, as 
already stated, the west side stream, the O-at-ka, 
is Allan's Creek. 



43 



Black Creek and Little Black Creek, both 
enter the Genesee in ChiH; and both are named for 
the dark color of their waters, which, especially at 
their mouths, contrasts decidedly with the yellowish 
muddy color of the river. The Indian name for 
Black Creek was Chek-a-nan-go, according to some 
authorities, and Ja-go-o-geh, according to others. 

Buttonwood Creek flows through Parma and 
Greece and empties into Braddocks Bay. It is said 
to have been given the name from the many 
buttonwood trees formerly growing along its banks. 

East Creek and West Creek are two very small 
streams wholly in Webster, flowing into Lake On- 
tario, less than half a mile apart. These names 
w^ere given simply to indicate their relative posi- 
tions. 

Four Mile Creek, which empties into Lake 
Ontario, at Nine Mile Point, in Webster, obtained 
its name on account of its length as it is approxi- 
mately four miles from its source to its mouth. 

Honeoye Creek is the outlet of Honeoye Lake, 
in Ontario County and after flowing through On- 
tario and Livingston Counties, and through Men- 
don and Rush in Monroe County enters the Gen- 
esee River in Rush. As already stated under 
" Honeoye Falls " its name is derived from an 
Indian word, " Ha-ye-a-yeh, " and means '* a finger 
lying. " 



44 



Irondequoit Creek takes its name from Ironde- 
quoit Bay, into which it flows by two mouths, at 
the head of the bay, partly in Penfield and partly 
in Irondequoit. 

Larkin Creek is one of the branches of a small 
stream flowing into Buck Pond in Greece. Its name 
comes from the fact of its flowing through a farm 
belonging to a family named Larkin. 

Mill C^eek, a small stream in Webster, flowing 
into Lake Ontario, was so named because a saw- 
mill w^as built on it many years ago. 

Mill Creek, the outlet of " Blue Pond " in 
Wheatland enters Black Creek in Chili, and was so 
named on account of the mills located on it at 
CHfton. 

Northrup Creek, a small stream flowing into 
Long Pond in Greece, derives its name from a fam- 
ily named Northrup, through whose properly it 
flows. 

Red Creek which enters the Genesee River 
from the east above the " Rapids " at Rochester 
w^as so called on account of the reddish color of its 
v^aters at certain seasons. 

Salmon Creek, which enters Braddock's Bay in 
Greece derives from the fresh w^ater fish of that 
name. The Indian name for this stream was " Go- 
do-ke-na " meaning " place of minnows. " 



45 



Sandy Creek, flowing into Lake Ontario in 
Hamlin, derives its name from the character of its 
shores or bottom. The Indians called it " O- neh- 
chi-geh " meaning " long ago. 

Spring Creek, a short but remarkable stream 
rising in the " Big Springs " at Caledonia, in Living- 
ston County, enters Allan's Creek ( the " Oatka " ) 
at Mumford, in Wheatland. Its name comes from 
its source. The Indians called it " Na-ga-noose, 
meaning " clear running water. ' It is the natural 
home of the speckled brook trout, and the State of 
New York has a Fish Hatchery on its banks, a few 
rods south of Mumford village. 

Tennison Creek, flowing into Buck Pond in 
Greece, takes its name from a family named Ten- 
nison through whose property it flow^s. 

West Creek, flowing through Clarkson, Hamlin 
and Parma enters Salmon Creek in Greece. It was 
named because it was the Western branch or tribu- 
tary of Salmon Creek. 

PONDS. 

In the town of Greece there is a series of six bays 
or ponds each with an outlet into Lake Ontario, 
and named as follows, taking them in order from 
west to east:-- 

Braddock or Braddock's Bay. This name is de- 
rived from General John Prideaux, a British Soldier 



46 



of established reputation, who, in 1 759, was put in 
command of a force of about 2200 regular and 
provincial troops and nearly 1000 Indians, with Sir 
William Johnson as second in command to proceed 
to attack the French at Fort Niagara. This force left 
Oswego, July 1, I 759, and on the way to the mouth 
of the Niagara River, encamped for one night at 
Irondequoit Bay and for another at the Bay to which 
the name of the commaiider was given, Prideaux 
Bay. While besieging Fort Niagara, General Prid- 
eaux was killed on July 19, 1 759, by the bursting of 
a shell carelessly discharged from a cohorn by one 
of his own gunners. Sir William Johnson then took 
command of the expedition and soon after, the 
Fort was surrendered by the French. In a sketch 
of the History of Monroe County by the late Wm. 
F. Peck, he says, speaking of Braddock Bay, " the 
name assumed its present form by starting with a 
barbarous mispronunciation of its original ( Prid- 
eaux, ) and thence a popular error connected with 
the unfortunate British General Braddock. There 
w^as, how^ever, at least one intermediate style, for a 
map in a little book published in Albany in I 798, 
puts it down as Braddoe Bay. " Mr. Peck's ac- 
count of the name is borne out by the fact that 
Turner, in his " History of the Phelps and Gorham's 
Purchase " several times refers to it as " Prideaux , 



47 



or Braddock's Bay. " In Mather & Brocketts " Geo- 
graphical History of New York " it is called " Brad- 
dock's or Bradlow's Bay. " This corruption of the 
name Prideaux has caused much confusion to local 
geographers and historians. 

There is a story current in the neighborhood of 
the bay, that a certain Captain Braddock, a " high- 
sea pirate, " being hard pressed by a pursuing ves- 
sel, took refuge in this bay, and on his death bed 
confessed that he had buried all his treasure under a 
beech tree on the shore of the bay. It is said that 
some of the old settlers can remember the time 
when the ground around every tree of any size on 
or near the bay had been dug into by searchers 
for Captain Braddock's pirate treasure. 

The first road recorded as built in Monroe 
County, w^as from Braddock's Bay to the distillery 
of Stephen Peabody on the Genesee River, a short 
distance below Peter Sheffer's, -- now the Thomas 
Brown estate, in Wheatland. 

Cranberry Pond. The origin of this name is 
uncertain, but it probably arose from the cran- 
berries growing there in early days. 

Long Pond w^as so called from its shape, being 
the longest of these six ponds. 

Buck Pond. This name is of uncertain origin, 
but it came presumably from the bucks once 
numerous on its shores. 



48 



Round Pond and 

Little Round Pond obtain their names from 
their shape and relative size. 

Blue Pond, in Wheatland, is a small body of 
water once famed as the home of numerous speck- 
led trout; it was named on account of its beautiful, 
blue color when viewed from a distance with a 
favorable combination of sun and shade. It is 
drained through Mill Creek into Bl^ck Creek. 

Mendon Ponds. In Mendon there is a group of 
four interesting ponds, draining into Irondiquoit 
Creek, each named for some characteristic feature, 
namely:— " 100 Acre Pond," "Deep Pond," 
" Round Pond, " and " Mud Pond, " in the order 
given, from north to south. The vicinity of these 
ponds is a famous place for botanizing and plants 
are found there which do not grow elsewhere in 
this section of Western New York except in Bergen 
Swamp. 

HEADLANDS. 

On the Shore of Lake Ontario, in Monroe County 
there are several " Points " or " Headlands " of 
which the following are the most prominent, taking 
them in order from east to west : 

Nine Mile Point in Webster, is approximately 
nine miles east of the mouth of the Genesee River, 
and thus gets its name. 



49 



Braddock Point. This name derives from Brad- 
dock Bay. The name of " Manitou Beach " has 
been given to it of recent years, since a hotel and 
summer resort have been established there. It is 
in the town of Greece. 

" Braddock Point Light. " Some 2H miles 
west-north-west of Braddock Point ( or Manitou 
Beach, ) in Parma, there is a fine lofty Light House 
with a powerful light. The official name for it is 

Braddock Point Light. " When congress appro- 
priated money to establish this aid to navigation, it 
was for a light at Braddock Point; but it was found 
by the Light House Board that a light placed there 
v^ould be of much less value to lake navigators, 
than it would be if placed farther west on the shore. 
Accordingly the tower and keeper's dwelling were 
built in their present location, and the name " Brad- 
dock Point Light " was given to it, because the 
money had been specifically voted for a new light 
on the point of that name, though the real Brad- 
dock Point is actually 2% miles east-south-east of 
the Light House. 

Devil's Nose. This is a prominent bluff in the 
town of Hamlin, about 60 or 70 feet high and the 
highest point any where on the South Shore of 
Lake Ontario. Who gave this name and why, are 
questions I have been unable to solve. Perhaps 
some early lake navigator found in its shape a 



50 



fancied resemblance to his Satanic Majesty's nasal 
organ. In the Century Atlas, edition of 1900, there 
is a list of 27 different places, mountains, lakes, 
creeks, &c., named after the Devil, showing him to 
be one of the most popular characters in history or 
geography. Some dangerous rocks extend into the 
lake from the bluff, making navigation dangerous 
there, and this fact may have given rise to the 
name. 

It would be of interest to continue this paper and 
discuss the origin of the names of the many hills in 
Monroe County ( " drumlins " as Prof. Fairchild, 
the Geologist, would call them ) and also to search 
out the meanings of the names of our country 
highways and city and village streets, but to do so 
w^ould unduly lengthen a paper already too long. 

In conlusion, it is interesting to note how few of 
all the names mentioned in this paper, are of 
Indian origin; only the Genesee River; Lake On- 
tario; Irondequoit Bay, Tov/n, Creek and Post 
Office; Honeoye Creek and Honeoye Falls; and 
Oatka Creek; that is, only nine places in Monroe 
County, out of nearly two hundred, retain^ the 
names given them by our Indian predecessors. 



51 



INDEX. 



Ada 


30 


Buckbee's Corners 


29 


Adams Basin 


15 


Buck Pond 




47 


Allan's Creek 


42 


Burritt's Corners 




29 


Allen's Creek 31, 


42 


Bushnells Basin 




33 






Buttonwood Cree 


k 


43 


Barnard 


15 








Bardett's Corners 


29 


Cartersville 




33 


Bays 


45 


Carthage 




33 


Beachwood Park 


30 


Cedar Swamp 




34 


Bealsburg 


15 


Center Park 




34 


Belcoda 


31 


Charlotte 




16 


Beulah 


32 


" Checkered Tavern' 


'27 


" Big Springs " 


45 


Chili 6, 


16 


26 


Birds and Worms 


30 


Chili Center 




26 


Black and White 




Chili Station 


16 


26 


Corners 


29 


Churchville 




17 


Black Creek 


43 


Clarkson 7, 


17 


26 


Blue Pond 


48 


Claverhouse 




17 


Braddock's Bay 45 


46 


Clifton 




17 


Braddock Point 


49 


Coldwater 




18 


Braddock Point 




Collamer 




34 


Light 


49 


Comstock's Corners 


29 


Brighton 6, 1 6 


26 


Cranberry Pond 




47 


Brockport 
Brookdale 


16 

33 


Creeks 
Crescent Beach 




41 
30 


Brookmere 


33 


Devil's Nose 




49 



52 



East Clarkson 


35 


Greece 


8 


East Creek 


43 


Greece Station 


26 


East Henrietta 


19 


Greenwood Beach 


30 


East Kendall 


38 


Hallock's Corners 








29 


East Penfield 


27 


Hall's Corners 
Hamlin 8, 19 


28 
26 


East Rochester 


18 


East Rush 


23 






Hamlin Center 


26 


Edgewood 
Edmund's Corners 


34 
29 


Hamlin Station 


26 


Hanford's Landing 


36 






Egypt 
Elm Place 


34 
35 


Hayes' Corners 
Headlands 


29 
48 


Fairpt)rt 


19 


Henpeck 


27 


Fish Ponds 


39 


Henrietta 8, 19 


26 


Five Points 


35 


Highlands, The 


29 


Forest Lawn 19 


29 


Hilton 


20 


Four Mile Creek 


43 


Hinkleyville 


37 






Honeoye Creek 


43 


Garbutt 


19 


Honeoye Falls 


20 


Garland 


35 


" Hoosic Hill " 


27 


Gates 7, 19 


26 






Gates Center 


26 


Industry 


20 






Irondequoit 8, 21 


26 


Genesee Junction 


35 






Genesee River 


40 


Irondequoit Bay 


41 


_ 








Irondequoit Creek 


44 


Genesee Valley 








Junction 


36 


Jenkin's Corners 


27 


Glen Haven 


30 


Kendall Mills 


37 


Golah 


35 






Grand View Beach 


30 


Ladd's Corners 


35 



53 



Lake Cove 


29 


North Hamlin 


26 


Lake Ontario 


40 


North Rush 


23,27 


Larkin Creek 


44 


Northrup Creek 


44 


Lehigh 


37 


Number Six Corners 38 


Lincoln Park 


21 




'^ 1 


Little Black Creek 


43 


Oatka 


21 


Little Round Pond 48 | 


Oatka Creek 


^ 42 


Locust Grove 


29 


Ogden 


9, 27 


Long Pond 


47 


Ogden Center 


27 
30 


Lord's Corners 


29 


Ontario Beach 






Ontario, Lake 


40 


Manitou Beach 


30 


Otis 


38 


Mann's Corners 


29 






Maplewood 


37 


Parker's Corners 


29 


Mendon 9, 


22,27 


Parma 


10 


Mendon Center 


27 


Parma Center 


27 


Mendon Ponds 


48 


Parma Corners 


27 


Mill Creek 


44 


Penfield 10, 


23,27 


Miller's Corners 


29 


Penfield Center 


27 


Monroe County 


5 


Perinton 


10,26 


Mortimer 


22 


Pittsford 10 


23.27 


Morton 


37 


Pixley 


21 


Mumford 


22 


Point Lookout 


30 






Point Pleasant 


29 


Natural Features 


40 


Ponds 


38,45 


Newport 


30 


Post Offices 


15 


Nine Mile Point 


48 


Prideaux Bay 


45,46 


North Chili 


23, 26 






North Greece 


23,26 


Red Creek 


38. 44 



54 



Redmon Corners 


29 


Sweet's Corners 




29 


Reed's Corners 


29 








Ridgeland 


39 


Tennison Creek 




45 


Riga 


11 


Town Pump 




28 


Riga Center 


27 


Towns 




6 


River, Genesee 


40 


Troutberg 




30 


Rochester 6 


23 


Twelve Corners 




39 


Rochester Junction 


23 


Union Hill 




24 


Roseland 


39 








Round Pond 


48 


Villages, not Post 




Rush 11,23 


27 


Offices 




30 


Rush Junction 


36 


Walker 




25 


Salmon Creek 


44 


Webster 12, 


25, 


27 


Sandy Creek 


45 


West Brighton 




26 


Scottsville 20 


24 


West Creek 


43, 


45 


Sea Breeze 


24 


West Greece 




26 


Severance 


39 


West Henrietta 


25. 


26 


Sibleyville 


39 


West Rush 


26, 


27 


Smith's Mills 


28 


West Sweden 




27 


South Chili 


26 


West Webster 


26 


27 


South Greece 


26 


Wheadand 


13, 


27 


Spencerport 


24 


Wheadand Center 


27 


Spring Creek 


45 


White City 


29 


30 


State Fish Ponds 


39 


Whites 




40 


Summerville 


29 


Windsor Beach 




29 


Sunnyside Beach 


30 








Sweden 


12 








Sweden Center 


27 









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